Orthognathic Surgery Has a Significant Positive Effect on Perceived Personality Traits and Perceived Emotional Facial Expressions in Subjects With Primary Mandibular Deficiency.

Abstract

This study tested the hypothesis that a layperson's social perceptions of a dentofacial deformity (DFD) patient with primary mandibular deficiency (PMD) are more positive after bimaxillary orthognathic surgery.A survey was implemented comparing layperson's social perceptions of emotional expressions and personality traits before and >6 months after orthognathic surgery when viewing standardized facial photographs. The study sample comprised 20 patients selected randomly from a larger primary mandibular deficiency database, treated by 1 surgeon after orthognathic surgery. The outcome variable was change in 6 perceived emotional expressions and 6 personality traits studied. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were computed (P < .05).Five hundred respondents (raters) completed the survey. The respondents were 52% male with 44% aging from 25 to 34. After bimaxillary and chin orthognathic surgery, primary mandibular deficiency patients were perceived to be significantly more dominant, trustworthy, friendly, intelligent, attractive, and less threatening (P < .05). They were also perceived as happier and less angry, surprised, sad, afraid, or disgusted than before surgery (P < .05).Laypeople consistently report improved social traits in primary mandibular deficiency patient's perceived emotional expressions and perceived personality traits after bimaxillary and chin orthognathic surgery.